Train food

[CWS4322]

So, I've decided to hop the train to MN. It will take me 30 hours, plus staying at a hotel until my dad can come and pick me up (the train gets in at 1:42 a.m. if it is on time). The station is 100 miles from where my parents live--I don't want my 80-yr. old dad driving in the dark to meet the train because deer are plentiful on that road. I want my dad driving in full daylight.

So, I'm planning my "train food." I'm also planning on hitting some foodie spots in Chicago--the layover is about 5 hours. I'm going back to the Spice Shop and The Olde Oil Shop--Billy--anywhere else I could hit in 5 hours? I'll be cabbing it.

When we were in NY Monday, oyster crackers were $1/a bag. My mom used to toss them with olive oil and a package of italian dressing mix and spread them on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes. I made my own mix--olive oil, 3-cheese (dry) mix, garlic powder, onion powder, and dill, roasted in the oven for about 10 minutes. I just have to NOT eat the crackers before July 28th (I'm snacking on them now, but I have 2 more bags of crackers...). I am thinking of packing my "picnic" as my train food. I usually make a trail mix for snacking on the train...what do you bring on the train?

 

[Timothy]

I usually make a trail mix for snacking on the train...what do you bring on the train?

I love taking trains! I have a cooler on wheels that I take on long train trips now. It has a expanding handle that allows me to pull it along. I use the blue ice packs in it and fill it with all kinds of goodies. I once had a conductor stop and tell me it was the best spread he'd ever seen on his train! I had a full meal out on the table! I always pay the extra for one of the tiny private rooms. It costs a lot, but the privacy is worth it. I strap a couple drink coolers to the top of that big cooler and I'm good to go! Food on the train costs WAY too much and isn't half as good as what I cook up! I even take my own booze and mixes too. It's allowed as long as I drink only in my room. I love train rides! I do wish that Amtrak would do more maintenance on the trains. It seems like something breaks on every trip. Then we have to pull off while the train people fix it for an hour or more. Especially when it's the air conditioning! They get hot, quick!

 

[CWS4322]

So what are your favorite things to put in your cooler? I've got some pate, fruit, trail mix, and ???. Oh, dolmas.

 

[Timothy]

So what are your favorite things to put in your cooler? I've got some pate, fruit, trail mix, and ???. Oh, dolmas.

I pack it as for a picnic if on short trips of less than a day, and with full meals if for multiple days, including snack foods and deserts. It's quite an adventure, and I always make a list of what I intend to eat during the trip. Then, the only real work is arranging it in the cooler so it doesn't all get squished.

Fried chicken is one of my favorites for some reason. Hush Puppies also with lots of butter on the side. Cheese Cake travels well too. Cheese and meat tray items always work well, including raw and pickled veggies.

Cold Meatloaf is awesome for lunch sandwiches and cold-cuts usually make the trip.

A wide-mouth thermos of hot Stew is sometimes taken with cornbread packed to accompany it.

I also pack wine and other booze and mixes for just my enjoyment!

 

[CWS4322]

Thanks--my GCC picnic is most likely also going to be my train food this trip...

 

[chopper]

When my DH and I took a train trip we packed our cooler with smoked salmon, crackers, crab meat, cheeses, veggies, and various drinks. We bought the little bottles of rum at the snack bar to go in our coke. We didn't have a sleeper car, but would lay out our spread on the tables in the snack car or in the observation car. We made lots of people jealous, and our food were great conversation starters!

 

[Snip 13]

So what are your favorite things to put in your cooler? I've got some pate, fruit, trail mix, and ???. Oh, dolmas.

I've never gone anywhere by train where the ride was longer than 1 hour but we often go on road trips.
I pack mini meatballs, boiled eggs, biltong, tortilla wraps filled with cold meat slices, cheese, lettuce etc. , pasta salads in chinese take away cartons, smoothies in plastic bottles for the kids, coffee or hot chocolate in flasks and maybe some brownies and granola bars for something sweet......

 

[recipedirect]

I can remember when the dining cars on trains were good. Tablecloths on the tables, real silverware, waiters and decent food. Long time ago...

 

[SherryDAmore]

I have taken the train NY - California twice, on the Lakshore Limited. The first time, the food was fantastic. We (DS and I) had a small sleeper. We also had a tv. Two years ago, I took the the train to Chicago, and was awful.

Take whatever you would take on a gourmet picnic; I buy "airline bottles" of wine. Grapes travel well, and taste good when traveling. Agree with fried chicken. And something chocolate.

 

[CWS4322]

I'm going from NY to MN on the train--30 hours. I can get more ice (I will bring extra ziplock bags for ice packs--I'll use the frozen packs for the start of the trip) in Chicago (if the train is on time). I'll post my train picnic when I've got it assembled...

 

[SherryDAmore]

DH freezes the small bottles of emptied Simply Lemonade, filled with water, and takes those in his lunch box which is insulated. They last longer than the blue packs, and you have cold water when they thaw. You also won't have to drag them around you when they have thawed. We use them many, many times.

For traveling, this might be the ticket. Just a thought.....

 

[CWS4322]

That's a good idea. I do something similar when I travel by car in the summer to help keep a dog cool--I freeze 2 l. bottles of water and put those in the crate with the dog. As they thaw, I can either drink the water or give the water to the dog (although I usually have more than enough water for the dog to begin with). Now that I no longer have a dog to join me on my travels, I'm taking the train. Flying is much too complicated (to get to where my parents are in Northern MN from where I am in SE ON).